Blog dedicated to helping homeless, and others in need in Central Ohio through knitting, crocheting, and looming.

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Our mission is to warm those in need through knitting, crocheting, looming and quilting. Our NEW hand made items provide hope to those living outdoors and those in temporary shelters. We provide for Men, Women, and Children in Central Ohio all year long. Specific details available by clicking item specific tabs, or the Who we Help Tab. If you have further questions, please contact me via the contact form. ALL DONATIONS MUST INCLUDE A NOTE WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

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GOAL FOR AFGHANS

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Afghans, Family Heirlooms

Meet Great Aunt Viola and her husband Harry. They were married back in 1932, 83 years ago. Notice the afghan to Viola's right...the left side of my old picture.

This is Great Aunt Viola's Mother, Mary Florence, my Great-Great Grandmother who was born 4 days before the start of The Civil War in 1861. Mary Florence crocheted that afghan. Likely 83 years ago as a wedding present for her daughter, Viola. Though it's possible, she made it before or after that; that's a logical conclusion given family history.

That afghan was made by my Great-Great Grandmother, used by her daughter, my Great-Aunt, given to my Dad and used alot! And now I have the honor of owning it.

Though it's in need of some repair, it's still around and is probably at least 83 years old! Afghans, knitted or crocheted are family heirlooms and carry a-lot of sentiment and meaning. We here on Bridge and Beyond knit and crochet afghans to bring meaning, and hope to those less fortunate. We donate our Afghans to Homeless Families Foundation as a way to say congratulations and best of luck. Congratulations because they have moved forward, they are transitioning from shelter living to their permanent living situation. That's certainly something to celebrate and commemorate. We also hope these afghans we make and donate give them hope for a brighter future, to know someone cares for them, and made something special for them. We hope the afghans we donate carry a special meaning to those who receive them, must like this special afghan does for me and my family.

Today is the first day of the annual A-Z Challenge for the month of April A=Afghan. Welcome to those in the challenge who may be seeing this blog for the first time. The blog is dedicated to helping the homeless through knitting and crocheting.

**We call this project, "Welcome Home", you can use those words and or afghans in the search box to see some of the afghans that have been donated in the past.

This is the starting portion of the 2nd square to "Learning Logs", my regular readers will remember the fits this ghan has given me, but.....I can say things are improving with the various changes I've made to the pattern. Comparison to square #1 is HERE

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

28 comments:

As the old saying goes, "if that afghan could talk":+) I guess in a way this one can for the fact that you are keeping it alive 83 years later and it is being repaired and loved some more. Wonderful old memories and stories that are fun to hear again and again.and we are talking about it on the internet! who would have thought? I am afraid my siblings and I have gotten to the age where we rehash old memories and stories from the good old days when we are together.Keep your memories alive Sandy. Like the old ghan they are what we are made of.Learning logs is coming right along. Good to see it again. You are doing well.Spring is here in MN. We are expecting 74 today with rain later in the evening. Will really green things up. Have a good one. Marj in Minnesota/45 to start

Still below freezing here this morning Marj, glad to hear you're having such nice weather. We will eventually. Right you are, if the afghan could talk. It's pretty cool how long these afghans will hold up. I think of the warmth it's given over multiple generations and it makes me smile.

People who knit socks, love them and say they are very comfortable. It's not something I've ever knitted and we suggest store bought vs homemade for the homeless because they really don't have the ability to wash often and therefore once they're in bad shape, they pretty much need a new pair. Learning to knit them is on my list of things to learn..........someday. Thanks for the visit Zannie

I've been following this and your Travelling Suitcase blog for years, possibly as far back as the Entrecard days. Anyway, I noticed you were doing the A to Z Challenge again so this time I thought I'd follow in your footsteps :)

I so admire the work you do here, and your heirloom afghan is something to treasure!

It was interesting to see the old pictures of your family. Thank you for sharing. Such wonderful memories that you have from the afghan. I don't have afghans from my Grandmothers, but I do have some dollies that each had made. I also have a set of pillow cases that my Grandma Seger put lace around the ends using pink varigated thread.

I am visiting from the A-Z challenge. I am an obsessive knitter and crocheter. I love the idea of your organization and your Welcome Home donations. Afghans are wonderful. I have knitted and crocheted so many over the years. I would like to help the Homeless Families Foundation. It is a worthy cause indeed!

Thrilled you visited Lyndagrace and am doing a happy dance that you're a fellow knitter and crocheter. Love to have you join us by knitting or crocheting afghans or other items. Each item we make and donate has it's own tab with information across the top of the blog. Let me know if you have questions.

What a beautiful afghan as part of your family history! Even after all these years, it seems like it has held together pretty well! I bet every afghan donated to a homeless person or to someone getting into housing is much appreciated!

We don't have any big afghans like that, but I cherish the baby blankets that have been hand knit or crocheted and passed down through the family. I'm a very sentimental person when it comes to this stuff.

That is amazing! To have an afghan that is that old. I have several that my grandmother and mother have made me and I can only hope and pray that they last that long! What a great family heirloom and treasure.

Yes, indeed, your afghans are art! I love that my post got your wheels turning. I am in full support of your sharing your artsy afghans far and wide (and I know you do). Afghans have been in my family for years as well. Every now and again I find a new interesting pattern that I give my Baba (grandma) to try out! I have yet to learn myself, but I hope to someday. I linked to Bridge and Beyond in my "B" post! I hope it gets you some more traffic.

I think this is an awesome program. Unfortunately, I don't have the knack of crocheting or knitting. My Mom used to joke that she had two daughters and neither one of us took after her with sewing. My Husband has an afghan made my his grandmother and it is special. Good job!

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Where are You and Your Yarn From?

I'm trying to identify where everyone is from, partially for fun. Take a look at the map. Also, believe it will aid me in cases where we have several people with the same name. Please look at the lists of bloggers and non bloggers and see if I have the state you hail from. If not, please leave a comment and let me know.

Additionally, we've had help from Scotland, England, Germany Puerto Rico, Canada, and France! They don't appear on the map, but their help is still greatly appreciated.